The world is entering its 4th Industrial Revolution, a new era of manufacturing characterized by ubiquitous digitization and computing. This is true also for the fashion industry, an industry in which Europe (and Italy in particular) has long maintained a global lead. IT-SHIRT is driven by the argument that, for the European fashion industry to retain its global lead, it needs to make digital technologies an integral part of the fashion value chain. In this research, we describe concrete ways in which such an integration can be achieved. Compared to the traditional approach that is based entirely on physical models, the digital aspect becomes an accelerating factor that facilitates collaboration between designers, minimizes the time-to-market, and enables immediate consumer feedback. Specifically, our project aims at investigating (i) CAD tools for real-time collaboration of designers over virtual 3D models of
fashion garments, (ii) software engines on top of CAD tools to provide designers with smart recommendations and creative support, (iii) online and offline digital showroom platforms, and (iv) social marketing engines for capturing consumer feedback and providing targeted marketing recommendations. The aforementioned core-components weave a "digital thread" around the production pipeline of the fashion industry, that spans the stages of conception, production, distribution, access to audiences, and market feedback. To assess the practical utility of the solutions investigated during the project, we will validate it on the challenging Italian fashion market and in international fashion initiatives through ALTAROMA, in collaboration with fashion designers and consumers.
